Huskies use big first half to defeat Sun Devils 77-69

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(18-8,11-3) remain tied for first place with a 77-69 win over the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils(8-18, 4-10). The Huskies saw four guys score in double figures as they used a 17-2 run towards the end of the first half to build a 44-26 lead over the Sun Devils. In the second half the Huskies simply coasted to the victory as they remain tied for first place in the Pac-12. The Huskies were led once again by Terrence Ross scoring 18 points and Tony Wroten recording six steals for the Huskies. The Huskies this Saturday take on the Arizona Wildcats as they go for the first season sweep of the state of Arizona since 2004(5-0 against that state). The Huskies have just one home game left after defeating the Sun Devils once again.

In the first half the game started off as a shootout as Ross hit his first two shots but Jonathan Gilling of the Sun Devils hit two three pointers to give the Sun Devils a 6-5 lead. The Huskies would go on a 6-0 run to lead 11-6. After the Sun Devils tied the game up at 13 the Huskies would go on a 10-3 run to lead 23-16. Leading 27-22 the Huskies would go on an 8-0 run to lead 35-22 which they continued that run to stretch it out to 17-2 leading 44-24 before the Sun Devils made a basket before halftime. The Huskies took a 44-26 lead into halftime over the Sun Devils. The Sun Devils had shot just 11-29(37.9%) from the field, 2-11(18.2%) from three point range. Their leading scorer was Jonathan Gilling who scored six points on two for five shooting all were three point shots.

For the Huskies they shot 19-32(59.4%) from the field, four for nine(44.4%) from three point range. They were led by senior Darnell Gant who scored nine points off the bench on three for five shooting including a three pointer while also grabbing five rebounds. C.J.Wilcox off the bench scored nine points on four for five shooting making a three pointer while having two assists. Tony Wroten scored eight points on four for six shooting with three rebounds. Terrence Ross scored seven points on three for nine shooting including a three pointer. Aziz N'Diaye scored six points on three for five shooting. Abdul Gaddy scored three points making his only shot which was a three but had five assists. The Huskies put the game away in the first half but would just cruise in the second half.

In the second half the Sun Devils had outscored the Huskies 43-33 as the Huskies coasted in the second half. The game was never in doubt. The Sun Devils had made the game interesting  going on a 13-2 run pulling within 56-45. The Huskies then put the game away with a 10-3 run to led 66-48. Lorenzo Romar emptied the bench and the Sun Devils scored some points at the end to make the game look closer than it was. For the Huskies this was a good win although the second half could have been better. The Huskies shot 29-59(49.2%) from the field, 8-25(32.0%) from three point range and 11-15(73.3%) on free throws. They were led by Ross who had another strong second half scoring 18 points on 7-13 shooting including four for eight from three point range. Ross also grabbed five rebounds and a steal. C.J. Wilcox scored 14 points off the bench on 6-11 shooting with two three pointers. He also had three assists, a steal and a block.  Tony Wroten scored 13 points on four for eight shooting from the field and five for eight from the free throw line. Wroten also added four rebounds, four assists and six steals. Aziz N'Diaye scored 12 points on five for nine shooting and was two for three on free throws. He also added four rebounds with a steal. Darnell Gant scored nine points on three for six shooting including a three pointer with five rebounds. Shawn Kemp Jr. scored six points on two for three shooting and swishing both free throws. He also added a block shot as well in 11 minutes. Abdul Gaddy scored three points on one for two shooting with a three pointer but added eight assists and a steal. Desmond Simmons scored two points on one for four shooting but had six rebounds including a block shot. The Huskies bench provided the boost as their bench outscored the Sun Devils 29-21 which was the difference in the score.

The Huskies took care of business on their home court which is what teams do who are looking to win a Pac-12 championship. Now comes the big test as they take on the Arizona Wildcats at home this Saturday in the final home game for Darnell Gant and possibly Terrence Ross and/or Tony Wroten. The atmosphere will be incredible for that game as the Huskies have defeated the Wildcats four straight years at home. The Huskies have now defeated the Sun Devils eight out of nine years at home with the lone Sun Devils win coming in 2008. The Huskies have dominated the Sun Devils in the Lorenzo Romar era. The second half was played sloppy and I'm sure Romar will get on his guys about that. Overall this was a great team victory as the Huskies are trying their best to keep pace with the California Golden Bears.

Observations:

- Last year when Matthew Bryan-Amaning graduated there was great concern about the Huskies post play. Many figured Darnell Gant would emerge but he hasn't as most of his points come from the outside. Insead Aziz N'Diaye has emerged into that guy. Once again scoring in double figures as he scored 12 points against the Sun Devils on five for nine shooting. N'Diaye has scored in double figures in 10 games this year out of 24. He has grabbed double figures in rebounds in six games. He's also had 13 games with at least one block shot. For the year N'Diaye is averaging 8.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 53.8% from the field. His production has almost doubled from last year despite only playing six more minutes a game. N'Diaye has been a big reason for the Huskies success this year inside and he still has one more year left with the Huskies program which is huge.

- The Huskies defense was terrific against the Sun Devils holding them to under 40.0% shooting in the first half and less than 20.0% on three point shots. Tony Wroten led the defensive charge with six steals as the Huskies had 10 steals and three blocks during the game. For Wroten he is now averaging 2.1 steals per game as he broke Justin Dentmon's record for most steals in a season for a freshman with 54. He still has four more regular season games plus one Pac-12 tournament game as well.

Another bright spot on the defense is the play of two freshman big men in Desmond Simmons and Shawn Kemp Jr. Simmons who has started 11 games(9-2 in those games) is averaging 5.0 PPG but 5.7 RPG in only 20.1 minutes not to mention 0.9 steals. As for Kemp Jr. he is averaging only 2.0 PPG, 0.8 RPG and 0.7 blocks per game but in just 7.3 minutes. In his last five games Kemp Jr. is averaging 5.0 PPG in only 10.6 minutes per game. These guys are showing a flash of their future with the Huskies. Both guys aren't lighting up the scorboard like Wroten does or like Ross or Wilcox did last year but they are providing defense which the Huskies need. Along with N'Diaye who has always been a factor in the paint the Huskies aren't as weak inside as people may think.

- Nice to see C.J. Wilcox get going last night shooting wise. Since returning from his injury Wilcox has shot over 40.0% in just two of his seven games back. In fact he is only averaging 10.0 PPG during that stretch. Wilcox against the Sun Devils though scored 14 points on 6-11 shooting from the field. Last year he had slumped from three point range for a long time then snapped out of it which the Huskies are hoping will happen soon. Since returning from his injury Wilcox is only 7-28(25.0%) from three point range. For the year Wilcox is still having a nice season scoring 13.8 points in 28.4 minutes shooting 41.6% from the field and making 2.2 three pointers a game. Wilcox has yet to hit a red hot streak like he did at the end of last season. Wilcox has shown in the past he can deliver in crunch time for the Huskies. If Wilcox can get going the Huskies can go very far in the tournament. Hopefully Wilcox starts his hot streak this Saturday against the Wildcats.

- Lorenzo Romar continues his dominance over the Sun Devils improving to 18-5 all-time against them since becoming the Huskies head coach. The Huskies are 8-2 at home against the Sun Devils, 8-2 on the road and 2-1 in the Pac-10 tournament. During Romar's first year the Sun Devils swept the Huskies since then the Huskies have won 18 out of 21 games against the Sun Devils. Unless the Huskies collapse they should finish in the top three of the conference for the seventh time in the last nine years under Romar. This team isn't your typical Romar team as they don't have that three point fire power or that intensity on defense every possession like years past. Where they make up for it is talent as Romar has never had a more talented 1-2 combo than he has now with Ross and Wroten. The next four teams the Huskies face though Romar hasn't dominated like he has the Sun Devils and Beavers the last two teams they've face. Should be interesting where the Huskies go from here.

The Huskies improve to 18-8 now which makes that 5-5 start seem like a different season ago. Nice to see the Huskies keep playing well as they strive to make the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season for the first time in program history. If the Huskies can accomplish that feat that would be a huge moment for Romar and this program. The Huskies are tied for first place in the conference with four games to go including Arizona the big one this Saturday at home. Should the Huskies win they can make some noise although ending the season with three on the road is tough. This was a good win for the Huskies taking care of business against an inferior opponent. Hopefully the Huskies clean up their second half play this Saturday against Arizona. With four games to go the Huskies are tied for first place which at the start of the year we all would have accepted.

Wroten leads Huskies to road win over Sun Devils 60-54

By Kshell

Tony Wroten led the Washington Huskies(13-7,6-2) into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 win a road win over the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils(6-14,2-6) 60-54 down in Tempe, Arizona. After scoring a season low 22 points in the first half the Huskies overcame that with a strong second half that saw them go on a 13-1 run to begin the half. Wroten also excited everyone with the #1 play on Sportscenters top 10 plays with a dunk after the Sun Devils pulled within four points. Lorenzo Romar also saw his roster gain some depth as C.J. Wilcox returned from injury and football sensation Austin Seferian-Jenkins continued to give the Huskies good minutes. Despite making only one three pointer the entire game the Huskies once again won with defense and hustle which has always been a trademark for Romar teams who have made the NCAA tournament. The Huskies may have defeated a bad team but road wins especially for this young group is hard to come by. Just like that the Huskies have now won two road games in a row and despite everything that went wrong in the non-conference season they have positioned themselves in the first half of the season to be able to contend for a Pac-12 championship which is always the goal.

The first half was played at an ugly pace as both teams failed to shoot above 35.0% which played right into the Sun Devils hands as they tried to pull the upset. The Sun Devils led at halftime 24-22 as they scored a layup at the buzzer to take the lead. The Sun Devils shot 10-29(34.5%) from the field but were helped out by  making four for nine(44.4%) from three point range. They were led by Jonathan Gilling who scored eight points on three for seven shooting including two three pointers. Sophomore big man Jordan Bachynski provided a lift off bench for the Sun Devils scoring four points on two for six shooting while pullng down seven rebounds as the Sun Devils led in the first half.

For the Huskies they also shot 10-29(34.5%) from the field but failed to make a single three pointer in five attempts. They were also just two for six(33.3%) from the free throw line. The Huskies were led by Tony Wroten who scored nine points on four for five shooting while making one of two free throws. Wroten also had four rebounds in the process. Terrence Ross scored eight points on only 4-12 shooting and missed all three three point attemps. Abdul Gaddy also struggled scoring just one point while missing all five field goals including two three point attempts. Gaddy did add four assists as the Huskies offense was terrible in the first half.

In the second half you saw a much different Huskies team as Wroten took over the second half. The Huskies began the second half on a 13-1 run to extend their lead to 35-25. The Sun Devils then went on a 6-0 run to pull within 43-39 that is when Ton Wroten made sportscenter top play on the top 10 plays. Wroten took the ball dribbled left down the lane then throw down a one handed jam on Jonathan Gilling for the sensational dunk. To cap off the dunk Gilling was called for a blocking foul as Wroten sank the free throw giving the Huskies a 46-39 lead. With 1:39 left in the game the Sun Devils again pulled the game within four as the Huskies led 50-46. Once again Wroten bailed out the Huskies with another three point play giving them a 53-46 advantage. From there on out it was a free throw war as the Huskies held on for the important win. Despite shooting so poorly the Huskies found a way to win over the Sun Devils led by Tony Wroten. Wroten scored 22 points on 9-12 shooting with six rebounds and three assists. Ross scored 12 points on 4-13 shooting with seven rebounds. Darnell Gant scored eights points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench. Austin Seferian-Jenkins also scored four points off the bench while grabbing five rebounds. Aziz N'Diaye scored five points with eight rebounds and a block shot. C.J. Wilcox returned from injury to score four points sinking all four free throws in the final minute as he played just 10 minutes. Abdul Gaddy scored just five points with five assists as the Huskies are now tied for first place.

For a young team like these Huskies are this was a huge road win. They are now tied for first place in the conference despite their struggles a month ago. This team is starting to have an identity and is gaining some depth with Seferian-Jenkins joining the team. Now if the Huskies can pull off the shocker and defeat Arizona in Arizona(something they haven't done since Brandon Roy was a senior) they could be in the drivers seat for the conference crown. This has been an up and down season for this group. Hopefully winning five of their last six games is the turnaround this team needed moving forward.

Observations:

- Earlier in the year I had complained about the Huskies lack of depth on the team. Well that isn't the case anymore with freshman Austin Seferian-Jenkins joining the team. C.J. Wilcox also returned from injury but played just 10 minutes. When he is healthy the Huskies will have eight quality players vs just six against California. Against Arizona State Seferian-Jenkins fouled out again like he did last game in 16 minutes. He also provided tough defense as you can see in this picture while scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds. In 32 minutes this year he has grabbed 12 rebounds which is 15 rebounds per 40 minutes.

When a player joins the team though that means someone's minutes are cut down. I figured Romar would take some from Gant, N'Diaye and Simmons. Instead Desmond Simmons appears to be the odd man out. Against Stanford Simmons scored six points but had just one rebound. Against Arizona State Simmons played just 10 minutes, scoring zero points and grabbing only two rebounds. Still with Seferian-Jenkins on the team that is huge as he is a quality big man unlike Bruenig or Kemp Jr who were just useless out there. With Seferian-Jenkins joining the team the Huskies now have a toughness to them that was left when Tyrese Breshers was forced to retire.

- Tony Wroten was big time once again as he appears to be running away with the freshman of the year award in the Pac-12. Wroten is going for a much bigger award which is Pac-12 player of the year. Twice when the Sun Devils had cut the game down to four points Wroten had a three point play to kill their momentum. Wroten also attacked that zone scoring 22 points on 9-12(75.0%) shooting which were all in the paint as he didn't attempt a single jumper. The previous game against Stanford Wroten scored 21 points on 9-14(64.3%) as he once again was attacking the rim. With Wilcox hurt teams are playing in a zone which at first frustrated Wroten as he was jacking up three pointers and that isn't his game. Now he is attacking the zone showing that he is most talented player in the conference already.

For the year Wroten is averaging 17.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He is shooting 49.6% from the field and he leads the entire Pac-12 in 7.6 free throw attempts per game(only making 54.6% of them). He is averaging a full two steals per game as well. Wroten has been as good as advertised for the Huskies.

-  Lorenzo Romar after winning his 300th game as a college coach started his quest to win  400 games. I liked how he used Wilcox in this game to get the rust off and it was nice having a good free throw shooter down the stretch. When Wilcox is fully healthy hopefully Romar inserts him into the starting lineup and finally benches Abdul Gaddy who has been holding this team back all season long. With Wroten, Wilcox, Ross, Simmons and N'Diaye everyone is playing their natural positions plus those are your five best players. With Gaddy, Gant and Seferian-Jenkins off the bench that is also a good bench to call on. This conference is wide open and typical Romar teams hit their stride during conference play like clockwork. This team is talented but as we've seen at times is immature so Romar has to do more leading than a head coach normally would have to do. Romar also improves to 17-5 all-time against the Sun Devils while being the Huskies head coach as he has just dominated the Sun Devils. Including going 8-2 down in Tempe which most of those wins were just like this one pretty ugly but Romar always finds a way to beat the Sun Devils.

Just like this Huskies team has found ways to win three of their last four games despite not shooting well at all in the first half of any of those games. They also won their of their last four conference games with Wilcox playing a combined 10 minutes and failing to make a single field goal. Ross carried them against the Cougars and Wroten has carried them the last two games. This team is starting to play defense which has to make Romar happy as his teams always play defense at least his NCAA tournament calibar teams do. The team that lost to South Dakota State at home in dominating fasion is now tied for first place in the Pac-12 with 10 more games to be played. This team has come a long ways in a month and can go even further in the next two months which is ultimately the goal.

2011 Pac-12 preview and predictions

By Kshell

This year the Pacific coast conference has added two teams making them the Pac-12 conference. For the first time in the Pac's history you'll see divisional play and a Pac-12 championship game. The team with the best conference record will host that championship game. Not only will teams try to win their division but they'll also try to win the top spot in the conference to host the title game. This year the Pac-12 features two teams who ranked in the top 10 who happen to be in the same division. Last year both the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinal played in BCS games. This year both the Ducks and Cardinal are hoping to return to a BCS game with a possible trip to the National championship.

The Pac-12 championship game should be interesting as Oregon won't be able to play Stanford. What also throws a wrench into this is that the USC Trojans who are picked to win the Pac-12 south aren't eligible to play for the title. So there is a good chance that the fourth best team in the conference will play for the right to play in the Rose Bowl. The last team from the Pacific Coast conference to win the Rose Bowl was the 2008 USC Trojans. The conference has two heavy weights in the Oregon Ducks who have won the conference the last two years and the Stanford Cardinal who feature the best NFL prospect in Andrew Luck. This conference also welcomes in the Utah Utes who have done very well in the past and the Colorado Buffaloes who have won a national championship just 20 years ago.

In this following post I'll break down each team while dividing them up into divisions. I'll also offer up my predictions as will several other people who I've interacted with through my blog. The Pac-12 is pretty balanced but now with the teams going to 12 schedules play a big part in how a team will do in conference play. For an example the Utah Utes get a huge gift as they avoid the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinal who are both ranked in the top 10. While due to already scheduled to play each other in non conference the Colorado Buffaloes and California Golden Bears will play 10 Pac-12 games this year. So I'll break down the teams starting with the South in alphabetical order.

South:

Arizona Wildcats(7-6,4-5)

The Arizona Wildcats under Mike Stoops appear to be a program stuck in the middle. Two years ago the Wildcats were knocking on the door of their first ever Rose Bowl trip but lost to the Oregon Ducks in double overtime at home. Then last year the Wildcats started off red hot going 7-1 before losing their final five games of the year including one to rival Arizona State at home. Now things don't get any easier for the Wildcats who begin their season playing their second game five days after their opening at 9th ranked Oklahoma State, then host seventh ranked Stanford, then hosts third ranked Oregon, then travels to #25 USC Trojans. When that stretch is over very likely chance the Wildcats will be 1-4 and dating back to last year that would make them losers of 9 out of 10 games.

What is working in the Wildcats favor is they have senior quarterback Nick Foles. As a sophomore Foles completed 63.4% of his passes for 2,485 yards with 19 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Then as a junior he didn't take that big of a jump as he completed 67.1% of his passes for 3,191 yards with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Wildcats also have running back Keola Antolin. As a freshman he ran for 525 yards(4.5 YPC) and 10 touchdowns with seven receptions. Then as a sophomore he ran for 638 yards(5.6 YPC) with four touchdowns and 17 receptions. Then last year he ran for 641 yards with seven touchdowns and 28 receptions including two for touchdowns. Last year for a team who threw quite a bit they also ran for 20 touchdowns. The Wildcats have an explosive offense although the defense has to worry many fans. The schedule out of the gate could destroy the Wildcats season.

Arizona State Sun Devils (6-6,4-5)

The Arizona State Sun Devils are the trendy pick to appear in the Pac-12 championship game this year. Dennis Erickson has had a bumpy ride since in his first year in 2007. The Sun Devils last season started the year off slow going 4-6 and 2-5 in conference play before winning their final two games. The Sun Devils won all five games that quarterback Brock Osweiler appeared in and won both of the starts that he made. The face of the Sun Devils program right now is outstanding middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Burfict can be a knucklehead at times but he is talented as he won Pac-10 freshman defensive player of the year award in 2009. Then as a sophomore he was named second team all pac-10 linebacker and sporting news named him the Pac-10 defensive MVP. Due to Burfict many think the Sun Devils will have a powerful defense that if not for six turnovers last year would have upset the Oregon Ducks last season.

Another reason fans are excited down in Tempe is quarterback Brock Osweiler. He took over for the injured but ineffective Steven Threet and performed quite well. He threw completed 56.9% of his passes for 797 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. In his last two starts of the season he threw for 647 yards with 68 yards rushing. He threw for five touchdowns and ran for a touchdown while not turning the ball over once. The Sun Devils also return Cameron Marshall who last year rushed for 761 yards(5.1 YPC) with nine touchdowns. Even though Erickson is on the hot seat it appears he has a pretty talented squad this year with Burfict leading the team.

Colorado Buffaloes (5-7,2-6)

The Colorado Buffaloes will be entering the new Pac-12 with pretty low expectations. Most experts think they'll take last place in the South and battle the Washington State Cougars for being the worst team in the conference. The Buffaloes last year after upsetting the SEC's Georgia Bulldogs dropped five straight games in the big 12 conference. Now the Buffaloes will have to play in the Pac-12 conference which will be just as tough as the Big 12 was. The Buffaloes were once a proud program much like the Washington Huskies who have fallen on hard times. Like the Huskies the falling apart started under Rich Neuheisel as well.

The one guy who can give other teams matchup problems for the Buffaloes is running back Rodney Stewart. Far as college goes he is the second or third best running back in the conference depending who you are reading. Stewart as a freshman ran for 622 yards(4.7 YPC) with two touchdowns and seven receptions. Then as a sophomore ran for 804 yards(4.1 YPC) with nine touchdowns and 12 receptions. Then as a junior he continued to improve rushing for 1,272 yards(4.4 YPC) with 10 touchdowns and 29 receptions. The Buffaloes also return starting quarterback Tyler Hansen who has a rough career throwing 15 touchdowns to 17 interceptions in three seasons while completing 59.3% of his passes. Last year he did complete 68.3% for 1,102 yards but had just six touchdowns and six interceptions. The Buffaloes are headed for a long year in the Pac-12 this season.

Utah Utes (10-3,7-1)

The Utah Utes enter the conference as a very successful team over the past years. The Utes went 10-3 last season, 10-3 in 2009 and 13-0 in 2008. The Utes have been one of the most successful program in all of college football and they proved in 2008 by destroying Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Utes finished that year ranked second in the nation and have won two BCS bowl games since 2004. The Utes last year were enjoying a great season as well starting the year off 8-0 and ranked fifth in the nation. They had a showdown at home against TCU where they lost badly then the following week lost badly to Notre Dame. They finished their season losing to another little giant in Boise State. Now the Utes will be coming to the Pac-12 as they caught a break in avoiding the #3 Oregon Ducks and #7 Stanford Cardinal.

The Utes return quarterback Jordan Wynn who completed 62.2% of his passes last season for 2,334 yards with 17 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. His main target will be Devonte Christopher who had 39 receptions last season for 660 yards with six touchdowns in 11 games. Utah to improve on their offense hired two-time national championship offensive coordinator and former NFL offensive coordinator Norm Chow. Now are they getting the Chow from USC or the Chow who failed with the Tennessee Titans and then UCLA Bruins? The defense has questions on their defensive line but due to the coaching staff they should be fine. The Utes caught a break with the schedule and look for them to make some noise in the Pac-12.

UCLA Bruins (4-8,2-6)

The UCLA Bruins enter year four of the Rick Neuheisel experience which hasn't produce as well as they'd like. Neuheisel finds himself on the hot seat as he is only 15-22 in his three years at UCLA. The program appears to be on the decline and has fallen into mediocrity or worse. The conferences only Rose Bowl winning coach has yet to produce a good offense which was what made him a good coach at Colorado and Washington. The Bruins best player is probably safety Tony Dye who many project to be second team all Pac-12. The Bruins don't return much on offense either.

Last season the Bruins had trouble on offense but the only strength was the running game. The Bruins return Jonathan Franklin who last season ran for 1,061 yards(5.0 YPC) with 8 touchdowns. The Bruins also return backup running back Derrick Coleman who ran for 476 yards(5.8 YPC) with five rushing touchdowns. Neuheisel did bring in highly touted Brett Hundley at quarterback but he is probably a year away. For now the Bruins will go with Kevin Prince. Last season Prince completed 44.7% of his passes for 384 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions. As a freshman Prince had completed 56.2% of his passes for 2,050 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Bruins are hoping to surprise some people this year but with no passing attack that will be tough in the conference. This could be the final season for Neuheisel at UCLA.

USC Trojans (8-5,5-4)

The USC Trojans are entering their second and final season of the bowl ban. The Trojans who won the Pac-10 title from 2002-2008 which included two National Championships, two Orange Bowl wins and four Rose Bowl championships. The Trojans have fallen back a little bit the last two years going 9-4 and then last year going 8-5. The Trojans lost to their rivals Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the first time since 2001. The Trojans last season lost three games by less than four points. This year many think the Trojans will win the Pac-12 South but won't be able to play in the championship game. The Trojans under second year head coach Lane Kiffin still have plenty of NFL talent.

The best NFL talent the Trojans have is third year quarterback Matt Barkley. Barkley as a true freshman who was a five star recruit out of high school ranked #1 quarterback in the nation struggled some as he completed 59.9% of his passes for 2,735 yards with 15 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Then as a true sophomore when most quarterbacks are redshirt fresman Barkley had a big season. Barkley completed 62.6% of his passes for 2,791 yards with 26 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. In a 48-14 win over California Golden Bears was a breakout game for Barkley. Barkley was 25 of 37(67.6%) passing for 352 yards with five touchdowns to zero interceptions. That was a week after almost upsetting Stanford Cardinal where Barkley threw for 390 yards with three touchdowns to zero interceptions. Barkley will be playing on Sunday's in the NFL and is a franchise quarterback in the NFL.

Barkley has plenty of weapons to throw to and hand the ball off to as well. His main receiver is true sophomore Robert Woods who caught 65 passes for 790 yards with six touchdowns. When Barkley isn't throwing the ball he is handing the rock off to Marc Tyler. Last year Tyler ran for 896 yards(5.2 YPC) with nine touchdowns.  The Trojans have plenty of talent despite the sanctions as they live in a recruiting hot bed. Look for the Trojans under Kiffin in year two to improve from the past two seasons. The Trojans have the most talent in the Pac-12 South and now just a matter of will they take advantage of it. Anytime you can have a future NFL quarterback on your team that is always a great plus.

North:

California Golden Bears (5-7,3-6)

The California Golden Bears are coming off a rare losing season in the Jeff Tedford era. The talent at California doesn't appear to be where it once was. The days of Aaron Rodgers, Kyle Boller, Marshawn Lynch, Justin Forsett and Jahvid Best appear over for the Golden Bears. Last year the Golden Bears were 5-4 with three home games left in the season. They lost to #1 Oregon 15-13 as they missed a short field goal, then were rolled to rival Stanford 48-14. With their bowl game on the line and leading 13-10 against the Washington Huskies their defense faced a fourth and goal from the one yard line. The Huskies scored the touchdown meaning the Golden Bears were going to have a losing season. Now the Bears lost quarterback Kevin Riley and running back Shane Vereen so the Bears could suffer a bad season this year.

The Bears do feature outside linebacker Mychal Kendricks who figures to be an all Pac-12 player this season. The Bears do return senior wide receiver Marvin Jones who as a sophomore caught 43 passes for 651 yards with six touchdowns. Then last year as a junior he caught 50 passes for 765 yards with four touchdowns. The starting quarterback for the Bears will be transfer Zach Maynard who started two games in 2009 for the university of Buffalo. Tedford will try to avoid having back to back losing seasons for the first time in his career at California with an inexperienced backfield.

Stanford Cardinal (12-1, 8-1)

The Stanford Cardinal enter the year ranked 7th in the AP and coaches poll. The Cardinal are the only Pac-12 team who won a BCS bowl game as they destroyed Virginia Tech last year in the Orange Bowl 40-12. The Cardinal did lose head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL which will hurt but Andrew Luck despite being guaranteed the #1 pick overall in the NFL draft decided to come back.  The Stanford Cardinal will contend with the Oregon Ducks for the Pac-12 title and compete for a shot at the National Championship game. The Cardinal have had the last two runners up in the Heisman Trophy race and return plenty of talent from last years Orange Bowl championship team.

The most talented player is future #1 pick overall Andrew Luck. Luck a five star quarterback recruit out of Texas started as a redshirt freshman. During his freshman year he completed 56.2% of his passes for 2,575 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 354 yards with two rushing touchdowns. Then as a redshirt sophomore  with Toby Gerhert gone the offense became Luck's as he completed 70.7% of his passes for 3,338 yards with 32 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He also ran for 393 yards with three touchdowns. In Luck's career he has been sacked just 12 times in 25 games which shows how mobile he is and how well his offensive line is. In the Orange Bowl Luck was 18 of 23(78.3%) passing for 287 yards with four touchdowns and an interception.  With Luck the Cardinal have the best player in college football and the biggest can't miss NFL prospect since Peyton Manning.

The running back that Luck will be handing the ball off to is Stepfan Taylor who rushed for 1,099 yards with nine touchdowns while catching 28 passes for 266 yards with a touchdown. The man blocking for those two is David DeCastro who is from Bellevue High School but Tyrone Willingham refused to recruit him. The Huskies loss has been the Cardinals gain as DeCastro is an all-american candidate. New head coach David Shaw who has never been a head coach couldn't have asked for a better situation to step into. The Cardinal host #3 Oregon Ducks on November 12th which will have Rose Bowl implications and possibly National Championship implications as both teams should be undefeated heading into that game. The Stanford Cardinal look to make some noise for the second straight season.

Oregon Ducks (12-1, 9-0)

The Oregon Ducks are coming off their most successful season in school history. The Ducks last year went undefeated in the regular season only to lose in the National Championship game to the Auburn Tigers 22-19 on a last second field goal. The Ducks under third year head coach Chip Kelly(22-4,17-1) have won the Pac-10 the last two seasons are looking to win the first ever Pac-12 championship. Kelly has found himself in some hot water this offseason with the Willie Lyles scandal which will eventually burn this program but it won't burn this season. The Ducks return plenty of fire power on offense. A scary thought to the rest of the league is that last year Darron Thomas was an inexperienced quarterback now he has national championship game experience. In any other conference or team Thomas would be bragged about. The Ducks have so many weapons on offense they put up scores that you would see only on Xbox.

The Ducks return running back LaMichael James who has destroyed the Pac-10 since Willie Lyles handed him to the Oregon program. As a freshman in 2009, James rushed for 1,546(6.7 YPC) with 14 touchdowns earning him first team all pac-10 and freshman of the year. Last year James jumped to Heisman finalist where he invited his friend Lyles as he ran for 1,622 yards(5.5 YPC) with 21 touchdowns and also caught three touchdowns. In the biggest regular season games of the year James steps his game up. Last year in the showdown against Stanford the Ducks found themselves trailing at home 21-3 but eventually won 52-31 where James ran for 257 yards(8.3 YPC) with three touchdowns. Then in a back and forth game at USC James ran for 229 yards(6.4 YPC) with three touchdowns. James in his last two bowl games has been stuffed rushing for 70 yards(4.7 YPC) in the Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State and only 44 yards(3.4 YPC) in the loss to Auburn. He has never scored a touchdown in a bowl game in his career. The Ducks also feature Kenjon Barner who last year ran for 526 yards(5.8 YPC) with six rushing touchdowns and two receiving. The Ducks have a talented backfield that no Pac-10 team has yet to solve.

The biggest question mark last season was Darron Thomas who played incredible last year. Last season Thomas completed 61.5% of his passes for 2,881 yards with 30 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. He also ran for 402 yards with five rushing touchdowns. In the loss to Auburn Thomas threw for a career high 363 yards while completing 67.5% of his passes. Thomas now has game experience and has won in tough environments like Knoxville, Tennessee and USC. He played in a national title and played pretty well in the title game despite Nick Fairly being in his face all game. The Ducks face a big game at Stanford on November 12th and also close out Husky Stadium on November 5th. That two game stretch along with their opener in Cowboys stadium in the Willie Lyles bowl against 4th ranked LSU Tigers will determine if the Ducks are playing in the national title game again. The Ducks are easily the best team in the Pac-12 and could actually be a better team than last year like last years team was better than 2009.

Oregon State Beavers (5-7,4-5)

The Oregon State Beavers after losing to their rival the Oregon Ducks for the right to go to the Rose Bowl in 2008 and 2009 fell on hard times in 2010 going 5-7. The Beavers will also be having to replace running back Jacquizz Rodgers who rushed for 1,110 yards(4.3 YPC) with 14 touchdowns. He also caught 44 passes, three of which went for touchdowns.  Mike Riley had the program going in the right direction but with schools like Stanford and Washington going from doormats to successful programs again the Beavers are suffering as a result. The Beavers disappointing last season was in large part due to James Rodgers being injured. Last year Rodgers had 16 receptions for 215 with two touchdowns. He played in only four games which was a huge loss for a team that doesn't have many playmakers.

This year James Rodgers will start the year off injured but when he returns the Beavers are getting one of the better playmakers in the conference. As a freshman Rodgers had 51 receptions for 607 yards receiving with four touchdowns. Then as a sophomore in 2009 Rodgers caught 91 passes for 1,034 yards with nine touchdowns. Rodgers also returns kicks as he has 2,263 yards in return yardage with two touchdowns. He has also rushed for 748 yards with six touchdowns in his career. The Beavers are a totally different offense with Rodgers back.  The Beavers return quarterback Ryan Katz who last season completed 60.0% of his passes for 2,401 yards with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Beavers will be relying on Katz quite a bit to carry the offense. Don't sleep on the Beavers as whenever people tend to overlook them Riley pulls off an 8-4 season with a Sun Bowl win.

Washington Huskies (7-6, 5-4)

The Washington Huskies are coming off their first bowl win in over a decade. Under third year head coach Steve Sarkisian he has turned the program around from 0-12 to Holiday Bowl champs in just two seasons. Now the Huskies must replace 8th pick overall in the NFL Draft quarterback Jake Locker and replace Mason Foster who is going to start at linebacker for the 10-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There is plenty of excitement around Montlake for this upcoming Huskies season which Sarkisian calls his deepest team he has ever had at Washington. If you want to read more in depth on the Huskies I broke the team down position by position in my season preview which you can read by clicking the link http://seattlesportsblog-kshell.blogspot.com/2011/08/washington-huskies-2011-season-preview.html .

The Huskies will feature running back Chris Polk who  as a redshirt freshman,  ran for 1,113 yards (4.9 YPC) and five touchdowns, with 25 receptions for 171 yards. Last year Polk was even better: rushing for 1,365 yards (5.2 YPC) and nine touchdowns, with 22 receptions for 180 yards. Polk, like he did in 2009, saved his best for the end of the season. During the Huskies four-game winning streak, Polk rushed for 673 yards (6.2 YPC) with five touchdowns. He scored the winning touchdown against California, and then in the Apple Cup, he rushed for the second highest total in school history; he ran for 282 yards (9.7 YPC) and two touchdowns. In the Holiday Bowl, Polk was MVP against Nebraska, running for 176 yards on 34 carries (5.2 YPC) with a touchdown. Along with Jermaine Kearse who had 63 receptions for 1,005 yards(16.0 YPC) with 12 touchdowns the Huskies should have plenty of weapons on offense. Sarkisian has the program headed in the right direction and look for them to try and compete for Pac-12 titles pretty soon.

Washington State Cougars (2-10,1-8)

The Washington State Cougars have completed one of the worst stretches in Pac-10 history going 5-32 over the past three seasons. The Cougars are 3-32 against Division-1 opponents and 2-25 in Pac-10 play over the three seasons. Paul Wulff in his three years hasn't experienced much success if any as he inherited a disaster from Bill Doba who apparently forgot to recruit division-1 athletes let alone Pac-10 players. In 2008 the Cougars went 2-11 losing 10 games by more than 20 points, seven by 30 or more points, five by 40 plus points and four by 50 plus points. Then in 2009 the Cougars went 1-11 losing nine games by 20 plus points, six by 30 plus points and two games by 40 plus points. Then in year three under Wulff the Cougars went 2-10 but were at least competitive losing four games by 20 plus points, three by 30 plus and two by 40 plus. The Cougars closed out the season with a road win at Oregon State 31-14 then rallied from two separate 14 point deficits to the Washington Huskies only to lose 35-28.

Those close games have made fans optimistic about this year for the Cougars. You can read Insider Steve's take on the Cougars by clicking this link http://seattlesportsblog-kshell.blogspot.com/2011/08/can-2011-wsu-cougars-be-something.html . Another Cougar fan who is excited is Tory Johnson who also wrote about the Cougars where he predicts a bowl game which you can read by clicking the link http://seattlesportsblog-kshell.blogspot.com/2011/08/season-of-intrigue.html . The Cougars are optimisitc that in year four under Wulff that the days of losing are finally over. The Cougars haven't had a winning season since 2003 which is currently the longest streak in the Pac-12. The Cougars for the first time in a while actually have players that other teams in the conference fear.

The face of the Cougars program is junior quarterback Jeff Tuel who is entering his third year as the starting quarterback for the Cougars. As a true freshman Tuel completed 58.7% of his passes for 789 yards with six touchdowns to five interceptions. Then last year Tuel completed 59.8% of his passes for 2,780 yards with 18 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Last year in the Apple Cup Tuel played terrific completing 71.4% of his passes for 298 yards with three touchdowns to one interception. Tuel just needs to work on his record as he is 2-16 as a starting quarterback. Tuel's main receiver is Marquess Wilson who is projected to be second team all pac-12 this season. Wilson last season caught 55 passes for 1,006 yards with six touchdowns. The Cougars are hoping that the passing attack is enough to land them a bowl game which would save Paul Wulff's job.

Now it's time to reveal the predictions that my staff, readers of my blog, former players and myself have made. Before I do that though I'll show the official Pac-12 media predictions.

Pac-12 media predictions:

South

1. USC (24 first-place votes), 230 points*
2. ASU (13), 207
3. Utah (4), 170
4. Arizona (1), 140
5. UCLA, 89
6. Colorado, 46

North
1. Oregon (29 first-place votes), 239 points
2. Stanford (13), 220
3. Washington, 142
4. Oregon State, 120
5. California, 110
6. Washington State, 51

Pac-12 Champion:
1. Oregon- 28 votes
2. Stanford- 11 votes
3. Arizona State- 3 votes

Here is an interesting stat on the Pac-12 media polls predictions. On the left is who the media had predicted and what they had finished.On the right is what the Pac-12 champion was predicted to finish.

1961 UCLA 1st UCLA 1st
1962 Washington 2nd USC 2nd
1963 USC 2nd Washington 2nd
1964 Washington 3rd Oregon State 6th
1965 USC 2nd UCLA 7th
1966 USC 1st USC 1st
1967 USC 1st USC 1st
1968 USC 1st USC 1st
1969 USC 1st USC 1st
1970 USC 6th Stanford 2nd
1971 USC 2nd Stanford 2nd
1972 USC 1st USC 1st
1973 USC 1st USC 1st
1974 USC 1st USC 1st
1975 USC 5th UCLA 3rd
1976 USC 1st USC 1st
1977 USC 2nd Washington 3rd
1978 USC 1st USC 1st
1979 USC 1st USC 1st
1980 USC 3rd Washington 3rd
1981 USC 2nd Washington 4th
1982 USC 3rd UCLA 3rd
1983 Arizona 5th UCLA 5th
1984 UCLA 3rd USC 3rd
1985 USC 4th UCLA 5th
1986 UCLA 2nd Arizona State 4th
1987 UCLA 2nd USC 4th
1988 UCLA 2nd USC 2nd
1989 USC 1st USC 1st
1990 Washington 1st Washington 1st
1991 Washington 1st Washington 1st
1992 Washington 1st Washington 1st
1993 Washington 4th UCLA 6th
1994 Arizona 2nd Oregon 8th
1995 USC 1st USC 1st
1996 USC 5th Arizona State 2nd
1997 Washington 4th Washington State 7th
1998 UCLA 1st UCLA 1st
1999 Arizona 6th Stanford 8th
2000 Washington 1st Washington 1st
2001 Oregon 1st Oregon 1st
2002 Washington State 1st Washington State 1st
2003 USC 1st USC 1st
2004 USC 1st USC 1st
2005 USC 1st USC 1st
2006 USC 1st USC 1st
2007 USC 1st USC 1st
2008 USC 1st USC 1st
2009 USC 5th Oregon 3rd
2010 Oregon 1st Oregon 1st

Now onto the predictions...

Terry Hollimon: Washington Huskies Running Back 1994-96, Northern Iowa Running Back 1997

1. Stanford
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. Cal
5. OSU
6. Wazzu

South

1. USC
2. Arizona
3. Utah
4. ASU
5. UCLA
6. Colorado
Championship Game: Stanford Over Arizona
If Stanford stays healthy, they will win the PAC-12 and contend for a national championship.

Chris Swanson: Freelance Reporter/Analyst, has worked for Northwest Cable News amongst other news outlets.

North:

1. Stanford
2. Oregon-Stanford beats Oregon in Palo Alto, then the Ducks get stunned the next week at home to USC
3. Cal
4. Washington-EWU 17, UW 37. It's 20-17 and close in the 2nd qtr until UW pulls away in the 2nd half.
5. Oregon State
6. Washington State-ISU 13, WSU 22. A couple of half ass drives turn into field goals and wazzu gets a dog shit safety in the 2nd half for a weird looking score.

South:

1. USC
2. Arizona
3. Utah
4. ASU
5. UCLA
6. Colorado-they'll go oh-fer the conf. in their first Pac-12 season

Championship: Stanford hosts and wins the conf. title game over Arizona thanks to USC's postseason ban. Oregon will laugh now, but they'll have that same ban staring in 2013.

 8 Pac-12 teams go to Bowls in this order.. Stanford, Oregon, Cal, UW, Arizona, OSU, Utah, and ASU. Only reason I put Cal ahead of UW is because I think the Golden Rods pull a stunner in Seattle the week after Nebraska.

Dan Wulff: Regular commenter on Seattle Sportsblog and Die Hard Cougs

South
 1. USC
2. Utah
3. Arizona
4. ASU
5. UCLA
6. Colorado
North
1. Oregon
2. Stanford
3. WSU
4. UW
5. Cal
6. Oregon State
Championship Game: Oregon over Utah

The winner of Apple Cup will finish 3rd and I feel on this day that both teams will be bowl bound!

Chris Rozwood: Commenter on Seattle Sportsblog, avid Basketball fan

North:
1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. Washington
4. Cal
5. Oregon State
6. WSU

South
1. Arizona
2. ASU
3. USC
4. Utah
5. UCLA
6. Colorado

Championship Game: Stanford over Arizona

That's based on the official predictions but weighted with how much I like/dislike the school and previous knowledge of how good/bad the school is at football. It's important to note that I'm an asshole, and if this were basketball I'd be mad at me because it's always the clueless guy who winds up being right.

Marc Hewitt: High School football and basketball ref. Baseball ump. Former football and basketball coach. Avid Ducks Fan.

North-
1. Oregon
2. Stanford
3. Washington
4. Oregon State
5. CAL
6. Washington State

South:
1. Arizona
2. USC
3. Utah
4. Arizona State
5. UCLA
6. Colorado

Pac-12 Championship will be at Oregon. Oregon beats Arizona twice this year.

Mike Morris: Former Central Washington University baseball pitcher

North
Oregon
Stanford
Washington
Cal
Oregon St
WSU

South
USC
ASU
UA
UTAH
UCLA
COL

Championship: Oregon over ASU

Ian Korzeniecki: Writer of Seattle Sportsblog. Football player for O'Dea High School

North:
1)Oregon
2)Stanford
3)Washington
4)Oregon State
5)Washington State
6) Cal

South:
1)USC
2) Arizona State
3)Utah
4) Arizona
5)UCLA
6)Colorado

Championship: Oregon over Arizona State
Adam Dinehart: Writer for Seattle Sportsblog

North:
1) Stanford
2) Oregon
3) Oregon State
4) Washington
5) California
6) Washington State

South:
1) USC
2) Arizona
3) Arizona State
4) Utah
5) UCLA
6) Colorado

Championship Game: Stanford over Arizona

 5-7 bowl teams...Stanford, Oregon, Arizona, ASU, Utah are the ones i think will make it with OSU and UW also having a shot.

Tory Johnson: Writer for Seattle Sportsblog and creator of Die Hard Cougs

North
1) Oregon
2) Stanford
3) Washington
4) Washington State
5) Oregon State
6) Cal

South
1) Utah
2) Arizona
3) Arizona State
4) USC
5) UCLA
6) Colorado

Oregon over Utah

Insider Steve: Creator of Inside Seattle Sports. Writes for Seattle Sports Blog and Seattle Sports Hub

North
1. Oregon
2. Washington
3. Stanford
4. Washington St
5. Cal
6. Oregon St

South
1. USC
2. Utah
3.Arizona
4.Arizona St
5. Colorado
6. UCLA

Championship Game: Oregon over Utah.

Oregon receives the BCS nod, Washington, Stanford, Utah, Arizona, and Arizona St or Washington St will recive the last bowl bid depending on their records.

Patton Richard: Writer for Seattle Sportsblog. Draft Geru for MLB and NFL.

North:
1) Oregon
2) Stanford
3) Washington
4) California
5) Oregon State
6) Washington State

South:
1) USC
2) Utah
3) Arizona State
4) Arizona
5) UCLA
6) Colorado

Championship Game: Oregon over Utah

Brian Alfi: Writer for Seattle Sportsblog. Two-Time Regional Wrestling assistant coach of the year(Edmonds Woodway High School).

North:
1- Oregon
2- Stanford
3- Washington
4- Cal
5- Oregon State
6- WSU

South
1- Utah
2- USC
3- ASU
4- Arizona
5- Colorado
6- UCLA

Championship Game: Oregon over Utah

Korey Payne: Writer for Seattle Sportsblog

North
1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. Washington
4. Oregon State
5. California
6. Washington State

South
1. USC
2. Utah
3. Arizona
4. Arizona State
5. UCLA
6. Colorado

Championship Game: Stanford over Utah

Bryan White: commenter on Seattle Sportsblog group. Avid Ichiro Hater

North

Stanford
Oregon
Washington
Oregon state
cal
wsu
South
*usc
Utah
Asu
Colorado
Arizona
ucla

Stanford over Utah

Stanford national champs

Zach Cecil: Played football at Shasta College from 2004-06

North:

Oregon - The top offense in the nation last year and two-time defending champs plus the return the QB and RB that were the biggest reasons they were so potent.

Stanford - Question marks at WR and the right side of the OL and a new HC make it tough to think they could dethrone Oregon.

Washington - I can't in good faith put a team higher than this that has question marks at QB and now possibly RB if Polk doesn't trust his surgically repaired knee.

Washington State - BOOM! Mind blown?! A strong finish last year translates into this year and a bowl bid thanks to a lot of returning experience who are ready to win.

Cal - Losing Riley and Vereen from an average offense spells doom for Coach Tedford. Also, this team lost 5 defensive starters from a top 25 yards allowed per game unit and to make things worse their hardest opponents are away (UW, Oregon, Stanford, ASU).

Oregon State - Katz to Rodgers could save this team from the cellar but the loss of Quizz from the 97th ranked rushing team means it won't be enough. Plus returning only 4 starters on defense that allowed over 400 yards is really bad.

South

Arizona State - Brock Osweiler's last two games in 2010 looked like this: 647 yards, 5 TDs 0 INTs and Cameron Marshall went over 100 yards combined in the Sun Devils last 4 games. Oh, by the way, this team scored 32 points per game. Oh, by the way they are returning 19 starters. Also, they miss Stanford which helps immensely.

Utah - If they start off strong, they'll finish strong with 5 of their final 6 games against teams they should beat.

USC - Matt Barkley looks to have a strong year to parlay it into a high draft pick and they have two kids who will be household names after this season in Robert Woods and Marc Tyler. Inconsistency and the inability to stop the ball was their undoing last year and will be again this year.

Arizona - The saying goes "If you're going through hell, keep going." That will replace the "Bear Down" mantra for these Wildcats from Sept. 8th to October 1st when they play at Oklahoma State, home vs. Stanford, home vs. Oregon then ending at USC. I don't think they can prevent their year from spiraling out of control after they start 1-4 even with underrated Nick Foles.

UCLA - With no passing game and a 91st ranked defense coupled with my hatred for Rick Neuheisel I refuse to rank them higher.

Colorado - A team in transition and without any real playmakers and in a very tough division means this team is heading straight to the basement.

Championship Game: Oregon over Arizona State

Michael Clouse: Commenter on Seattle Sportsblog

North

1. Oregon - Ducks go out on top before Kelly bolts among potential sanctions in Eugene.
2. Stanford - Losing Harbaugh will hurt, but Luck and a solid stable of returning starters will keep Stanford in contention for the North title.
3. Washington - This is the year where Sark and Co turn the corner, despite losing Locker. A very good running game led by Polk and weapons on the outside will help an inexperience Price.
4. Washington State - Tuel and Marquess Wilson lead an offense with high scoring capabilty. Is it enough to cover up a poor defense and lead WSU to their first bowl game since 2003? They'll have to prove it before I buy into it.
5.  Oregon State - They've been hit by the injury bug all Spring and lost their number one playmaker to the NFL, but Riley has bounced back after subpar years his entire career. Katz and James Rodgers will  try and bring the offense back to respectability.
6. Cal - Tedford is finally on the hotseat and coming into 2012 with an inexperienced QB with no true weapons to play with will be the end of Tedford's tenure in Berkely.

South

1. USC - Despite being bowl ineligable for another year, this Trogans team is way too talented to not win the weak South. Expect big things from Barkley and Co on offense to get USC back on the national map...in a positive way.
2. Arizona State - I've been burned by picking them to take the next step before but with Erickson on the hotseat and one of the best defenses in the conference, the Sun Devils will compete for the South title.
3. Utah - They return a solid offense but how will it fare against much tougher defenses than in the Moutain West. A subpar secondary could be their achilles heel in the pass happy Pac-12.
4. Arizona - Stoops should be on the hot seat in my opinion after multiple disappointing finishes after fast starts. Foles and a solid receiving core should keep them in most games, but the new offensive scheme could be troublesome during a tough 4 game stretch of Oklahoma St, Stanford, Oregon and USC early on.
5. UCLA - After making a big splash signing Neuheisel in 2008, the Bruins have failed to get back near the top of the conference as expected. The troubles will continue this year and end the Slick Rick era in in Westwood.
6. Colorado - The team lacks talent on both sides of the ball. Add that to a brutal schedule, I'd be shocked if the Buffaloes finished anything but last in the conference.

Pac 12 Title Game: Oregon over Arizona State

Pac 12 Player of the Year - LaMichael James
Pac 12 Coach of the Year - Chip Kelly

Kris Shellenbarger: Creator of Seattle Sportsblog, Moderator of Seattle Sportsblog group, writer of Seattle Sportshub

Well I broke down each and every Pac-12 game when I did my predictions. It was tough to say this team will beat that team but that is what I did.

North

1. Oregon Ducks (11-2,8-1): The Ducks are easily the most talented team in the conference as they look to three peat as conference champs. The Ducks have Thomas and James in the backfield which will present plenty of problems for opponents this season. The Ducks will overcome an early season loss to LSU to represent the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl. Chip Kelly resigns end of season to take Georgia head coaching job to avoid the storm that is coming.

2. Stanford Cardinal (10-2,7-2): The Cardinal still have Andrew Luck which makes them one of the nations top teams. I feel like the Cardinal will play in a BCS game once again. I think losing Harbaugh will hurt them when they play the Ducks. After this season Luck will be the #1 pick in the NFL Draft of the Washington Redskins.

3. Washington Huskies (8-4,6-3): The Huskies are probably a year away from seriously competing for a Rose Bowl berth. Sarkisian has the program headed in the right direction which is light years ahead of where they were under Willingham. Chris Polk will pass Napoleon Kaufman as the all-time leading rusher in Huskies history this season.

4. California Golden Bears (7-5,5-5): Due to a home and home with Colorado last year both schools will play 10 games in Pac-12 play. I think Tedford is running out of time at California but a bowl game this year should buy him more time.

5. Oregon State Beavers (5-7,3-6): I just know Mike Riley is going to make me eat my words but I feel like the emergence of the Huskies that the Beavers will start to go downhill. So hard to compete in Pullman and Corvallis in this conference.

6. Washington State Cougars (4-8,2-7): I'm probably being a little nice with this pick. The Cougars have a ton to be excited about but their defense still can't stop anyone. I think this is Wulff's last season in Pullman as he'll never get a head coaching job again. Remember he was the same guy at Eastern Washington who lost to an average D-2 school in Central Washington.

South

1. USC Trojans (9-3,7-2): The Trojans are still on probation but I expect them to rebound from the past two disappointing seasons. Whenever you feature a quarterback that draft experts will say is a franchise quartrerback that is always a good thing. If the Trojans can somehow convince Barkley to return for his senior season look for them to be national championship contenders in 2012.

2. Utah Utes (9-3,7-2): The Pac-12 welcomes Utah with a gift by having them avoid both the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinal. I do think the weekly grind of the Pac-12 schedule will get to Utah and they do have two non conference road games at BYU and Pittsburgh. After week one Utah doesn't get an "easy" opponent rest of the way.

3. Arizona State Sun Devils (8-4,6-3): The Sun Devils in year four under Dennis Erickson do just enough to save his job. The talent is there for the Sun Devils but I still see them dropping a game they should win(at WSU late in the season). The Sun Devils are a darkhorse to win the South this season.

4. Arizona Wildcats (4-8,2-7): I hate picking a senior quarterback like Nick Foles to have his team go 4-8 but I'm going to. The Wildcats lost five in a row to end last season and will most likely start off 1-4 this year. Having lost 9 of 10 I see their season spiraling out of control. Mike Stoops will survive this bad year but will be on the hot seat next season.

5. Colorado Buffaloes (2-10,1-9): The Colorado Buffaloes will be the whipping boys for the Pac-12 for a while. The Buffaloes like the Huskies in the middle part of this decade are a once proud program who was great in the 1980's and 1990's but have fallen on hard times. This year should be no different for the Buffaloes.

6. UCLA Bruins (3-9,1-8): The only Rose Bowl winning coach in this conference Rick Neuheisel will be fired after this year. Neuheisel like he did at Colorado and Washington has seen his team get worse the longer he's been there. His recruiting has always been terrible and at UCLA it has been no different.

Championship Game: Oregon 45, Utah 20

In conclusion, I hope you enjoyed my Pac-12 preview and predictions. I'm sure one team that I'm high on right now will lay a stinker and another team will do well who I have doing poorly. The Pac-12 north features two of the nations top teams while the South has four teams who could win it and I wouldn't be surprised. Scary thought how the fourth or fifth best team in the conference could possibly play for the Rose Bowl because of the Pac-12 championship game. I'm curious going forward how that game will screw over our top teams. By having the top seed host the game that does give the conference some insurance against that happening. Well this year should be fun as I'm excited for college football season to begin. The march towards the Rose Bowl starts very soon. This Saturday will be a very special day to many fans out there who are tired of baseball and preseason football. Good luck to your teams and hopefully I didn't mess up my picks too bad.

Bryan-Amaning dominates Sun Devils again as Huskies earn season sweep 79-62!

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(18-7,10-4) led by Matthew Bryan-Amaning who had another strong performance proved to be to much against the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils(9-16,1-12). The Huskies took care of business winning on the road 79-62 despite having early troubles. The Huskies overcame an early eight point deficit and the injury to starter Scott Suggs to cruise to an easy win on the road. Just like the last game where these two teams played Bryan-Amaning was just simply to much for the Sun Devils. Bryan-Amaning led the Huskies in scoring and rebounding with 22 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four block shots. The Huskies were also helped out by the resurgent C.J. Wilcox and Venoy Overton who both played their third consecutive good game. The Huskies will now travel to Arizona short handed but the roster appears to be playing well at the right time just like they did last year.

The Huskies began the game pretty slow to the struggling Sun Devils. Remember back in January the Huskies led over the Sun Devils at home by just one point. To make matters worst starting Junior guard Scott Suggs suffered an MCL sprain in the first three minutes and will miss two to three weeks. The Huskies also found themselves trailing 15-7 that is when Bryan-Amaning and C.J. Wilcox took over. The Huskies went on a 16-4 run to take a 23-19 lead. The Huskies continued that run into halftime leading 43-33. The Huskies after struggling offensively ended up shooting 15-32(46.9%) on field goals and 5-15(33.3%) on three pointers. The Huskies were actually attacking the basket and making their free throws shooting 8-11(72.7%) from the charity stripe. The Huskies outrebounded the Sun Devils 20-15 and played better three point defense allowing the Sun Devils to only shoot 3-10(30.0%) from three point range.

The Huskies were led in the first half by Matthew Bryan-Amaning who took a while to get going but once he did it was all over for the Sun Devils. Bryan-Amaning scored 13 points on four for eight shooting and five of six shooting from the foul line. Bryan-Amaning also had a team leading six rebounds in the first half. The Huskies also got a big boost from C.J. Wilcox who filled in great for the injured Scott Suggs. Wilcox scored 11 points on four for seven shooting including three three pointers. Isaiah Thomas struggled in the first half scoring just seven points but had four assists. He only shot three for nine and just one of five from three's. Venoy Overton provided good minutes off the bench scoring five points but grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. Once against Ty Abbott kept Arizona State in the ball game scoring 13 points on 6-11 shooting including a three pointer. The Huskies used that first half momentum and carried it over to the second half.

The Huskies in the second half played terrific defense to wrap up the victory. The Huskies held the Sun Devils to 13-36(36.1%) shooting from the field and just 1-7(14.3%) from three point range. The Sun Devils also hurt themselves shooting just 2-12(16.6%) from the free throw line. The Huskies also slowed down Abbott holding him to four points on just one for three shooting. The Huskies also went to the free throw line 19 times in the second half as well. The Huskies outscored the Sun Devils 36-29 and led by more than 20 points throughout the second the half. The Huskies ended the season sweep of the Sun Devils with a 79-62 win over the Sun Devils. The Huskies shot well from the field making 25-56(44.6%) of their field goals including eight three pointers. The Huskies won by getting to the free throw line making 21-30 free throws(70.0%) and also recording 10 block shots to go with 21 assists on the game. The Huskies played one of their best road games in years even though the opponent wasn't very good.

You can't talk about this game without talking about Matthew Bryan-Amaning. Bryan-Amaning like he did in the first meeting destroyed the Sun Devils. Bryan-Amaning scored 22 points on 7-11 shooting and 8-11 from the foul line. Bryan-Amaning grabbed 12 rebounds including six offensive he also blocked four shots on the game showing he was a man amongst boys. Considering this was a conference game this was probably C.J. Wilcox's best game as a Husky. When Suggs went down someone had to step up and Wilcox did just that scoring 16 points on 6-11 shooting including four for nine from three point range. Wilcox also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists and blocked two shots. An all around great game by Wilcox which the Huskies will need in the next coming weeks. Isaiah Thomas struggled this game scoring just 11 points on 4-12 shooting including two for eight from three point range. Thomas did dish out six assists to just one turnover though. Venoy Overton continuing his strong play scored 10 points on two for four shooting including a three pointer grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists to just one turnover while recording a steal. Then Justin Holiday for the second straight game struggled scoring just nine points on three for seven shooting including a three pointer. The Huskies took care of business and now must hope this three game winning streak carries over to Tucson where they take on the 13th ranked Arizona Wildcats.

The Huskies showed some good things today for the third straight game. The Huskies attacked the rim and went to the free throw line. The Huskies are also featuring Bryan-Amaning and not becoming so dependent on Thomas and Holiday. The Huskies are getting good play from their bench especially Overton and Wilcox which one will have to start this Saturday. The Huskies have now appeared to have rebounded from that rough patch at Oregon and must show they can beat a quality opponent away from Seattle. With the way the Huskies manhandled the Wild Cats up in Seattle and with the way the Huskies are playing I think they have a shot. The Huskies lost a great three point shooter in Suggs but they have Overton and Wilcox playing well now. Lorenzo Romar's team appears to be making that late season surge as they typically do. This team unless they lose out will be going to the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. They have turned it around and have one last chance to still win the Pac-10 regular season title this Saturday in Arizona.

Observations:

- It wasn't all smiles in the Huskies win over the Sun Devils as they lost junior guard Scott Suggs for 2-3 weeks due to an MCL sprain. That is a shame as Suggs was playing well as of late and for the year. For the year Suggs has made nine starts and is averaging 7.3 points per game in only 17.8 minutes on the year. Suggs is a terrific shooter too as he is shooting 45.5% from three point range making an average of 1.7 three's a game.

Suggs was playing really well the last six games too. In the last six games Suggs has averaged 10.2 points per game while shooting 14-32(43.7%) from three point range which is an average of 2.3 three pointers a game. Since Suggs has been in the starting lineup the Huskies are 6-3 on the year. Now someone like C.J. Wilcox today or Terrence Ross will have to step up. For the next 2-3 weeks the Huskies will only have eight scholarship players who are active. This isn't a killing loss but this loss will hurt more than people can even imagine especially if the Huskies get in foul trouble.

- Beware Pac-10 Venoy Overton appears to be back. Overton who had struggled terribly in a 10 game stretch in the bulk of the Pac-10 schedule appears to have turned it around. Overton after scoring in double figures just once in the first 12 Pac-10 games has scored in double figures back to back games. Overton was struggling and we can all speculate why which I don't feel like talking about.

Overton the last three games has been producing averaging 10.0 points per game, 5.3 assists to 1.0 turnovers a game. Overton is also shooting 8-18(44.4%) including hitting a three pointer in three straight games. Overton has also gone to the free throw line 16 times the last two games showing he has been agressive. He has also recorded a steal the last three games as well.

The Huskies getting production out of the active conference leader in assists and steals is so huge. He was a guy the Huskies were counting on as he was the fourth leading scorer last year and third in minutes. With Overton playing like the Huskies expected they could make a run.

- The Huskies have also received great play from C.J.Wilcox and given Suggs injury they'll need him to continue that. Wilcox in the first 11 games of the Pac-10 season was shooting just 4-21(19.0%) from three point range. Wilcox only played in nine of those games scoring just 22 points combined which was an average of 2.4 points per game.

Well in the last three games Wilcox has turned it around. He is averaging 13.3 points per game and made 10-23(43.4%) from three point range. He is averaging 3.3 three pointers a game during that stretch. Wilcox overall is shooting 13-26(50.0%) from the field and perfect on his four free throw attempts. He also has three blocks and two steals during that stretch. It appears Wilcox has turned it around. Sometimes hitting some garbage time three pointers can be the start of good things to come. Wilcox only played 13 minutes in that blowout win over California last week but he hit four three pointers and has played himself back in the rotation. He'll be asked to duplicate Suggs terrific three point shooting.

- Matthew Bryan-Amaning dominated the Sun Devils once again. For the year against the Sun Devils Bryan-Amaning is averaging 26.0 points per game, 10.5 rebounds a game, 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 18-27(66.7%) from the field and 16-19(84.2%) from the free throw line. Now Bryan-Amaning isn't a guy who just dominates the worst team in the Pac-10. After a mini two game slump he appears back on track.

In the last four games Bryan-Amaning has shot over 60.0% in all four games. During that four game stretch Bryan-Amaning is averaging 19.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds a game, 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 32-50(64.0%) from the field. The Huskies are starting to finally featuring Bryan-Amaning again and he is starting to connect on his field goal attempts.

On the year Bryan-Amaning is having a first team all pac-10 type of season. Bryan-Amaning is averaging 16.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds a game, 0.9 steals a game and 1.6 blocks a game. He is shooting 57.7% from the field on the year. In Pac-10 play Bryan-Amaning is averaging 17.7 points per game, 9.1 rebounds a game, 0.57 steals a game and 1.7 blocks a game. He is shooting 100-171(58.4%) from the field during this 14 game stretch for the Huskies. Bryan-Amaning is a Senior and I feel as if our fan base doesn't appreciate how well he is playing this season.

- The Arizona State Sun Devils probably wish Lorenzo Romar would be fired. Since Romar has arrived at Washington the Huskies have dominated the Sun Devils. Romar began his career getting swept by the Sun Devils but ever since then he has only lost to the Sun Devils just three times which is tied for the fewest losses to any Pac-10 opponent. Romar in nine seasons against Arizona State is 7-2 at home, 7-2 on the road and 2-1 in the Pac-10 tournament against them. Add it all up and Romar is 16-5(.761%) against the Sun Devils. Romar winning percentage against the Sun Devils is the best amongst all Pac-10 teams. To say he has their number would be a slight understatement.

All in all the Huskies blew out a pretty crappy team on the road. The Huskies current three game winning streak has been against the seventh, eighth and now last place team in the Pac-10. The Huskies aren't exactly beating stiff competition but they were swept down in Oregon to the current ninth and sixth place teams. The Huskies took care of business and did what they had to do. By winning this game they avoided another black eye and unless they lose their remaining Pac-10 games or to Seattle U they will go back to the NCAA tournament. This Saturday is huge because if the Huskies lose they won't realistictally have a chance to win the Pac-10 regular season championship. The Huskies win or lose this Saturday showed they are moving in the right direction on the season. The slump appears to be over and the Huskies are playing well as a team. Should be fun this Saturday as the Huskies hope to win in Tucson for the first time since 2006 when Brandon Roy was a senior. The Huskies are playing good ball and if they win this Saturday it should surprise nobody.